Note: Some of the screenshots in this slideshow are from the current beta version.

I love the CloudApp file sharing service, and I’ve tried my fair share of CloudApp clients for my iPhone. Unfortunately, most of the iOS clients that are currently available have been abandoned by the developers, receive few updates, or just aren’t that great. Enter DropCloud.

Tweetbot for Mac

DropCloud, created by Shabbir Vijapura, has all the features you’d expect from a CloudApp client, like the ability to upload images from your camera roll. But DropCloud goes above and beyond the call with a bunch of brand new features that haven’t been put into a CloudApp client before, and those features are what really makes it shine.

Inline Thumbnails

One of those features is so simple, it’s honestly quite surprising we haven’t seen it in a Cloud client yet: in-line image thumbnails. Because CloudApp uploads usually have basically useless filenames (such as the date and time of the upload), this feature is invaluable. The ability to see the photo before I tap on it has saved me a lot of time. With other clients I had to tap on each image, wait for it to load, make sure I had the right image, then copy the link and share it. With DropCloud, I always know which photo I’m choosing before I choose it.

Background Uploading

Just like CloudApp for Mac, DropCloud can listen for certain events and automatically upload items for you in the background. In the current version, that is limited to uploading any text, URLs or photos that you copy using the native iOS controls, but an upcoming version which I’ve been playing around with features the ability to automatically upload screenshots as soon as you take them, and it works perfectly.

Archive and Upload

Let’s face it: not everyone can spend the money on CloudApp Pro accounts. Unfortunately, non-pro accounts are only allowed to upload ten items a day. That can be frustrating if you need to upload a large number of photos from your phone to share. DropCloud solves this problem with yet another brilliantly simple feature. Instead of forcing you to upload a group of pictures individually, the app can archive up to thirty images in a zip file, then upload that single file. That means instead of ten photos, you can upload 300 on a free account. Of course, this is an optional feature, so you can upload the photos individually if you have a pro account or don’t plan on uploading more than ten photos at once.

Streaming

Another feature from the Mac app that made its way into the upcoming version of DropCloud is the ability to see the number of times your files have been accessed in real-time. Most CloudApp clients require you to refresh the page in order to see updated view counts, but DropCloud streams these events live. Not only does the counter stay up to date, but the app also instantly loads any new uploaded items, such as a screenshot from your computer will show up the moment they are uploaded, and start counting views.

Everything Else

As previously mentioned, DropCloud features the entire array of standard CloudApp features, such as the ability to upload photos from your iPhone or iPad (including the option to do multiple uploads at once, with optional archiving); the ability to sort your uploads by type (images, bookmarks, text, zip archives, and more); integrated image, web and audio viewers; options for image compression to save bandwidth; and the option to delete your files (including a very handy multi-file delete option); Twitter, Facebook, and email integration for faster sharing; privacy controls; the option to open your files in other apps that support the “open in” feature of iOS, such as AirSharing or Dropbox; the ability to restore deleted items from a Trash section, which is fantastic if you find yourself accidentally deleting the wrong file all the time (like me); the ability to automatically copy links to your files as soon as they are uploaded; and a lot more.

Overall

Simply put, DropCloud is the best CloudApp client available for iOS, and with as much attention as the developer is giving it, there is a very good chance that it will stay that way for a long time. If you use CloudApp, I highly recommend you take a look at it.

DropCloud 2.2 is available on the iOS App Store at the incredibly affordable price of $.99 for a limited time, and works on the entire family of iOS devices running iOS 4.0 or better. Version 2.3 is currently in beta and will be available soon.